“We see about 200 students each night, so this event gives us a chance to educate them before they begin their physical evaluations.”
Dr. Pont attends monthly SHAC meet- ings and provides his medical expertise. He says the SHAC is instrumental in advocating for adequate physical activ- ity and nutritional changes for students to prevent obesity and promote healthy eating. For example, in 2009, when the leg-
islature stopped requiring Texas high school students to complete one semes- ter of health education and reduced the number of physical education (PE) se- mesters from three to two to graduate, the AISD SHAC took action. The SHAC recommended the school district main- tain the requirements that all high school students take a semester of health and a year-and-a-half of PE, and the school board agreed.
and lung; and abdomen. Before students rotate through each exam station, nurses check their blood pressure and vision. Anywhere from 600 to 1,000 students participate in the free physicals each year, Ms. Triggs says. Stephen Pont, MD, oversees the
TCMS free annual student physicals as medical director of AISD’s student health services program. He says the clinics give volunteer physicians an opportunity to teach students about the value of regu- larly seeing a primary care doctor. “We see about 200 students each night, so this event gives us a chance to educate them before they begin their physical evaluations,” he said. Texas Medical Association policy on physician examinations for young ath- letes takes into account that these exams provide an entry point into health care for young Texans who may not have reg- ular access to a primary care physician. Among its provisions, the policy outlines TMA’s support of student involvement in sports and other physical activities and eliminating barriers that prevent stu- dents from participating. TMA supports changes in the Texas Education Code to require that only licensed physicians or appropriately supervised physician assistants or advanced practice nurses licensed in Texas conduct athletic pre-
48 TEXAS MEDICINE March 2013
participation physical examinations for school-age children. Dr. Rowe says the TCMS-sponsored
free physical examinations represent a thorough well-child assessment for those students who may not have access to a medical home.
“The physicals also provide significant
reassurance to the schools, parents, and coaches that these children can safely participate in athletics and other activi- ties,” he said.
Physicians involved in school health For the past four years, Dr. Pont, medi- cal director of the Texas Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity, has been a member of the AISD SHAC. SHACs advise Texas school dis- tricts on coordinated health program- ming and its impact on students’ health and learning. Texas law requires all school districts to have a SHAC. Dr. Pont says AISD, which has about 90,000 students, values health as an im- portant aspect of education and school performance. He works with the more than 130 AISD student health service staff members — nurses, school health assistants, and administrative staff — who are employees of Dell Children’s Medical Center.
“The ability of Austin’s SHAC to de- velop and implement policy recommen- dations is part of what makes it a model for other school districts,” Dr. Pont said. The school district can enforce the health and PE curricula because the school board voted for the requirements, making them district policies. The Austin SHAC also helped imple- ment nutrition requirements for vending machines that make healthier snacks the most affordable options.
“The vending machines now contain foods with reduced amounts of fats and sugars. All beverages have to be 100-per- cent real fruit juice or low in sugar, and water is the cheapest beverage available. These state-of-the-art vending machines even have video monitors where the dis- trict can display health messages,” Dr. Pont said.
AISD also hired a chef to oversee cre- ation of a healthy school lunch menu that meets federal guidelines and re- quirements while incorporating as much locally grown produce as possible. In fact, some of the school district campus- es have vegetable gardens on site. Instituting these kinds of changes in the face of limited funding and dwin- dling public school resources is no small task. Dr. Pont says the SHAC overcame bar- riers to improved health and nutrition in schools by identifying areas where the priorities of the SHAC and the school district align.
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